A Covington man accused of raping his live in girlfriend’s 13-year-old daughter pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Originally charged with aggravated rape, punishable by life in prison, prosecutors at the 22nd Judicial Court in Covington accepted Ricky Odom’s plea for forcible rape and attempted forcible rape at the victim’s request. State Judge Raymond Childress sentenced Odom to 15 years on each charge to run concurrently, or at the same time.

“It kept the victim out of testifying,” Rick Wood, spokesman for District Attorney Walter Reed said. “A lot of times during these cases they are very, very glad not to testify. That’s like living the trauma again.” The incident came to light in March 2003 when Odom and the victim’s mother and her two daughters started living together. While the mother worked during the day, Odom attacked the girl, according to police reports.

Odom, 32, at the time, has fought the charge for five years since his June 2003 arrest in Alabaster, Ala. where U.S. Marshals found he fled. He was living with his new wife.

In September 2003, a St. Tammany Parish Grand Jury indicted Odom on the rape charges.

Odom’s long awaited day in court was mired by legal wranglings that caused one judge to be removed from presiding over his trial.

In April 2006, state Judge Patricia Hedges ordered him released after she found a detective and prosecutor trampled on his rights when they obtained a handwriting sample without notifying his attorney.

State Judge Reginald Badeaux granted a motion filed by prosecutors forcing Hedges to recuse herself from the case based on the hostile way she treated prosecutors.

The case was reassigned to Childress.